Chieftain AVLB

I had a Chieftain AVLB by an unkown manufacturer that was of abysmal quality.  I also had a GHQ Chieftain with a mangled turret, so I decided to combine the two. The GHQ Chieftain had its drivers hatch shaved off and replaced by a brass hatch from a 1/144 scale armor kit.  The turret ring was filled with a piece of sheet plastic and a brace was built for the back out of I-beam plastic.  I shaved off the bridge mount from the bad AVLB and mounted it on the GHQ version.  The bridge (a number 8 tank bridge, I believe) lacked detail, so I etched grooves on its treadways (is that hte right word?) and mark crosses on the ends.  I also removed much of the original detail (such as some big hooks) that seemed to just be there to hold it together.

Once complete, I primed it Tamiya Fine Surface Primer and base coated it in Polly S British Brown Drab (which is actually fairly greenish) and applied a camo pattern in Tamiya NATO Black.  I washed it with a 1:10 dirty black wash, highlighted it with old concrete, painted the details and drybrushed earth.   The model was sealed with Testors Flat Finish spray.

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